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Chapter 22
“WHO IS IT?” Katie demanded. “Who’s pointing a gun at my brother?”
“I don’t know.” Eric sped down the bumpy dirt road, both hands on the steering wheel of his company truck, his cell phone pinned between his shoulder and ear. “I’m on the line with Liam trying to find out.”
“Liam’s there?” Lena heard the panic in Katie’s voice. “Oh God, what if this lunatic shoots him too?”
Eric tossed the phone on the dash and sped up. “It’s Tim. Liam confirmed the shooter is my former crew chief, dammit. I fired him a few weeks ago after he showed up high to a job site. I told him it was the last straw, that I’d heard he’d been stoned off his ass at the pizza place not long before that and I didn’t want anyone in town wondering if I let someone use a chainsaw in his condition.”
“He blames Chad for losing his job?” Katie said. “That’s ridiculous. Half the town saw him there that night. And that was over a month ago.”
“Liam thinks Tim’s under the influence right now. Drunk, stoned—we don’t know. According to Liam, Tim showed up waving a piece of paper, screaming about paying his mortgage, and then pulled a gun. Tim’s looking for someone to blame and he came up with the guy who threatened him at the pizza place.”
“How close are we?” Lena asked from the backseat. With one arm wrapped around Hero, she reached her free hand into her purse, needing to feel her gun. She knew the power of a single bullet. She’d witnessed the damage one shot could do to a person, cutting off the possibility of a future. And when it came to guns and crazy people, every second counted.
“Can you drive faster?” she demanded.
“We’re close,” Eric said, making a sharp left turn into a dense forest. “One minute to the landing.”
He put his cell down. “When we get there, I need you ladies to stay in the car.”
“No.” Lena withdrew the revolver from her bag as Eric put the truck in park. “Hero stays here, but I’m coming with you.”
“Lena.” He glanced back and spotted the gun in her hand.
“I’m coming with you,”
she repeated, pushing the seat forward and following Katie out the passenger side of the truck.
Katie ran to Liam, wrapping her body around him. Running a hand over her hair, his arm banded tight around his girlfriend’s waist, Liam glared at Eric. “You brought her here?”
“I couldn’t keep her away.”
“Katie, honey, it’s not safe,” Liam said. “I need you to wait in the truck.”
“No. Where’s Chad?” Katie demanded. “Where’s my brother?”
Lena scanned the clearing, spotted the twin rotor helicopter resting on the field. Five feet in front, Chad stood with his hands raised over his head, his brown eyes focused on the man with the hunting rifle.
Determination swelled, leaving no room for panic. She’d trained for years to take out the enemy. Right now, the man staring down the barrel of the shotgun at Chad was her number one adversary. And unlike the anxiety that followed her around day and night, she could take this one out with a single shot. She could do this. Her arms raised, Lena marched across the clearing, the revolver aimed at the target with a laserlike focus.
“Tim, put the gun down,” she ordered.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chad’s jaw tighten. But Lena kept her gaze focused on the wild-eyed man who looked like he’d walked out of her nightmares and into her life, her fingers ready to pull the trigger. But this wasn’t a dream. And if she wanted something real with the man standing in front of the helicopter, she needed to fight for it. Now. Falling apart was not an option.
The Silver Star in a box under her bed wasn’t worth much to her. But Chad? He was everything. And she wasn’t about to let some jerk with a shotgun steal her chance to tell him.
Or a panic attack, dammit. She had to hold the fear at bay until she’d removed the threat.
“Lena,” Chad said, through clenched teeth. “Get back in the truck. Now.”
“I’m sorry, Chad. I never thought standing up for me over pizza would end with another gun pointed at you,” she said, forcing her voice to remain calm and her focus on the man with the weapon.
“We’ve called the police,” Eric said. “They’re on their way now. You need to put the gun down, Tim. I know you’re upset, man, but this solves nothing.”
Lena saw the sweat on Tim’s brow. He was nervous, jumpy, and likely to do something stupid. She had a feeling waiting for the police was not an option.
“How the hell am I supposed to pay my mortgage now?” Tim demanded, moving his arms just enough with each word that her instincts screamed, Take him out, but her mind knew to wait for a clear shot.
